P4: A Day in Their Shoes
by VulmenMatrias
Summary: Currently; this story offers a 'prequel' look to what a day in the characters' lives were like, prior to the events of the game. As such, there are no pairings in this story. Whether I consider to continue into future events may involve whether readers show any interest in that.
1. Chapter 1 - Yukiko Amagi

_**Author note:** Not really sure where I'm taking this. I really wanted to write something, so I just went right ahead and did so. If anybody actually reads this, drop me a line on whether you want to see any more from me or not. Anything in particular? Say whatever you want. That aside; on with the story. Oh and yes; this is very obviously before the actual events of the game. And also; I keep to canon for the most part, but hey...the actual canon has several "branches" due to multiple media sources, so I might match suit accordingly._

_April 4, 2011_

_**Amagi Inn, Yukiko's Room**_

Morning rays of sunlight shown through an open window with no screen, lighting the clean paneled floor of the room. A young lady gently brushed her long, loose black hair over her shoulders, slipping a red headband into place. She stared at her mirror's reflection for a moment, but the image didn't help to change her solemn expression.

Exhaling gently, she chided herself for being so weak-willed in her endeavor. She'd been meaning to bring a certain topic up with her best friend for weeks now, but the opportunity had just never seemed to present itself. _There's always tomorrow._ She had kept telling herself.

Stepping over to the window, she slid it to the side, shutting it gently. Kneeling to the floor, she slid back a pink drawer of her bookshelf, pulling out a black bag with a small white label that read: _Yukiko Amagi_. School had yet to begin, but she and Chie had made plans to meet at a local store, Junes, in preparation. She zipped it shut.

As she rose to her feet, the bedroom door slid to the side. "Yukiko, dear, don't forget we have a large dinner party tonight…we could really use the help this evening. If you could keep your trip with Chie short, that would be a great help. Could you do that for us?" A woman with black, just-above-shoulder length hair stood in the doorway.

She hadn't forgotten. Feigning a smile toward her mother, she clutched her bag in front of her with both hands, her black eyes meeting her mother's eyes of blue. "Yes. I'll be sure to come right back." She stated simply.

"Thank you, we really appreciate it." Her mother admiringly answered, turning back to the hallway. "Have a good day with your friend."

As soon as her mother was out of sight, her smile faded, her dark eyes dimming. This happened every so often, but as she was getting older it seemed to occur more frequently, and she was only sixteen now. Her eyes drifted to the paneled flooring, steeling herself for this Monday. _I have to stop putting this off and just ask Chie…today._

_**Junes, main entrance**_

"I still don't know how you get so interested in classes." Chie, a spunky young girl with cropped brown hair, wondered aloud as she and Yukiko headed for Junes' elevator. "Most all of our school's teachers are the _worst_!"

"It's not that bad." She calmly replied as they entered the elevator. She enjoyed their classes, though she never stopped to consider why.

"You only say that because you score number one in our class." She retorted plainly, propping her hands off her hips.

Well; it was true she scored number one in their class. Yukiko turned toward the elevator door quietly. "Sorry... I'll try to do better tutoring you this year."

"What? I wasn't saying-" *_Ding_* The elevator door opened to the food court. "A-Anyway. I've gotta find Yosuke, he wanted to borrow my Trial of the Dragon DVD. Catch up with you in a minute?"

"Hm?" Without meaning to Yukiko had found herself distracted, thinking over how to achieve her promise to tutor Chie better this year. "Oh, sure."

* * *

Now that shopping was out of the way, she bided her time eating a rice cake, patiently waiting for Chie to come back. _So, Chie…any plans for the future? Leaving town? College? Career? …what if, do you think I could come too?_ She lost herself in thought, wondering how to word the question without raising any suspicion. She couldn't help but be annoyed with herself as even in her own thoughts this wasn't working so well.

She had been so distracted by this she failed to notice the chair beside her slide back, until a male suddenly seated himself next to her. "Hey Yukiko-san, nice meeting you here." She stared at him dumbfoundedly, though unaware she was doing so. She had no idea who this young man was, or if she'd ever seen him before, although he did look familiar. "Oh sorry you must not remember me, we haven't spoken that much. We were in different classes last year."

"Can I help you?" She instinctively reacted, questioning him as politely as was her nature.

"Not long left until school starts." He said calmly, leaning slightly toward her over his chair's armrest. "I was just thinking; let's make the most of this week! Right? How about it?"

"How about what?" She questioned flatly, not quite following what he had in mind. Still she racked her brain wondering what his name was. Outwardly, however, she appeared to be perfectly calm; both her hands resting one atop the other over her black and white checker-patterned skirt. But she wasn't.

"Ggh…" The young man hung his head slightly. "Sorry, coming on too strong? How about this; let's enjoy what's left of the day at the Samegawa Flood Plain. We can pick up some dinner from Sozai Daigaku later and eat it at the picnic table there."

"I'm sorry, I can't." No time was wasted in her response, though it wasn't harsh in the least. "I'm busy." Her mind immediately reeled, spinning back to her duties for the evening. She'd spend it all stuck indoors at her family's Inn, helping to fill her role.

The man ran his fingers back through his short brown hair, leaning back in his chair with a nervous laugh. "Yeah no problem…I understand. Tomorrow better?"

Her nerves frayed a little, attempting to decide a second polite way to decline him. He continued before she could come up with anything. "Look fine, just one day alright? Doesn't have to even mean anything; just you and me head out somewhere. All women love to shop…so I'm even up for that! Come on…"

Her stomach twisted, no longer able to hide the discomfort she was feeling. "YOU again?!" Chie's voice roared across the food court, attracting attention from nearby guests. The young man sighed; muttering under his breath as the green-clothed beast-on-a-mission came storming over. "What do you think you're doing!?" She shouted, aiming her fore-finger directly in his face.

"Look I was just trying to have a conversation with Yukiko-san okay? No need for this…" Yukiko felt utterly humiliated as everyone nearby watched their table with interest. No longer able to keep her composure, her eyes drifted idly to the table's white surface in front of her, staring absent-mindedly as her friend resolved the situation.

"Right; just like you and your friend over there-" she declared while pointing toward the elevator, "had tried last school year. You got your answer then, you have it now. Get lost already, and get out of my seat!" She declared with a solid stomp to the ground.

He threw his hands up defensively, jumping to his feet. "Alright alright calm down, don't bite my head off or anything jeez." Chie said nothing, simply holding a cold glare on him as he glanced aside to Yukiko, who was still somberly focused on the table. He shook his head and turned away, heading to join his friend by the elevator.

"Grrr, they tick me off so bad." Chie grumbled as she claimed the now-empty seat beside her friend. Yukiko finally looked up, just in time to catch the two friends meet each other and, oddly, the man handed his friend a small amount of yen bills to which she distinctly heard the words '_failed_' and '_Amagi Challenge_' from his friend.

Chie heard too. "THAT'S what this was about?" She yelled with renewed vigor, leaping from her chair.

"Chie, please!" Yukiko pleaded, reaching out quickly to seize her friend's wrist, although very weakly. "It's alright…"

"Later Chie." The man waved back-handedly over his shoulder as he walked off with his friend.

Everyone left in the food court turned to Chie and her friend, Yukiko Amagi. Chie grunted in disgust and sat back down as Yukiko turned her head downward, a heavy blush across her cheeks to rival her red cardigan overtop her school uniform.

* * *

The '_Amagi Challenge_.' She wasn't sure how it had started, or even why, but it had been a long-standing _game_ that most all the boys at school seemed to play. They would seemingly take turns trying to win a date with her, for what reason she couldn't figure out…it felt more like the entire school was just laughing at her for being different. For awhile, she had suspected it was a joke to get back at her for holding the top performance record for their school's tests, but in the end that made no sense to her either.

She sipped on a glass of lemonade as her friend finished her meal. Thankfully the onlookers had grown bored awhile ago, leaving her and Chie their privacy. "Thank you again Chie…" She finally brought that up again. "I really appreciate all your help."

"Don't even think about it! You know I'm there for you whenever you need me!" She said after quickly swallowing a mouthful of her kabob. She waved the point of her stick into the air. "Those guys just don't know when to quit. What was he saying to you this time?"

"Oh. Um…something about shopping." For a moment, she looked overly perplexed by that statement, as if trying to recollect his words. "Yes I think he wanted to go shopping."

"Pfft…haha!" Chie slapped the table, clutching her stomach with her other hand. "Oh that's rich. You know; maybe one of these days you should take one of them up on their offers…and just go buy everything you ever wanted with his money."

"I don't think I'd like that…" She responded dryly.

"Hey; it's not like they don't deserve it." Chie retorted as she bit into her next kabob.

She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. Not because of the topic, but rather how to steer the conversation back to her whole reason for being here. "Yes…but just think about what might happen years from now when you need a job. He could be your boss. I mean…have you even thought of what you will do when you graduate?"

"Huh…" Chie lowered her kabob, arching an eyebrow as her brown eyes gazed the open blue skies overhead. "Guess I never thought about that. It's two more years though, right? That's plenty of time!"

"You aren't concerned at all?" Yukiko questioned in surprise; half incredulously, half disappointed.

"Nope." She shrugged in response. "I'll figure that stuff out later. But don't worry; whatever I do we'll still be friends!" She lowered her gaze, settling their eyes on each other she beamed a smile back at Yukiko. "I'm not going to just up and take off. Besides, if I do end up leaving Inaba I can always come back and stay at your Inn."

With a complete lack of self-awareness, her eyes widened, stricken by her friend's words. _You're leaving me…_ She couldn't offer any response, too taken by a sudden pain of regret – a regret of actually _knowing_ this life was expected of her even by her own friend.

Chie seemed to take Yukiko's sudden lack of composure a different way. "You'll own and run that Inn one day, so I'll always know where to find you." Reaching out, she laid each of her hands on Yukiko's shoulders, a warm smile plastered across her face. "So stop worrying about the future already; it's okay! Nothing's going to tear us apart."

"R-right." She quickly responded, shoving away her visible fears to replace them with a warm smile. "Thank you Chie…"

Chie stood, changing the topic just as quickly. "So you got time to come see Muku? He really misses you y'know."

"I can't…" She meekly responded, lifting from her chair to clutch her hands behind her back.

"Oh gotta work at the Inn? Too bad. Well, there's always later. How about tomorrow?"

"Um…yes, that's fine." She conceded, at this point so lost in herself she wasn't sure what she had just agreed to.

"Awesome! Well, laters!" She waved excitedly as she headed off.

_**Amagi Inn, Dining Hall**_

Yukiko crossed the paneled flooring, dressed in a full-body length pink yukata with a pattern of daisy flowers on its shoulder. This night was especially depressing for her, not because of the some dozen-odd people she was helping tend to, but because she knew – and finally accepted – this was her cage for the rest of her life.

*_**Thud**_* She jumped back a step in surprise, deftly keeping from dropping a stack of trays and a crate of empty alcohol bottles, as a man fell flat on his back in front of her feet. Her heart settled a moment later; staring at the man in mild wonder. _Well…at least you're happy._ She smiled down to him, though he seemed too far gone to even notice.

"You!" A drunken slur called across the table as she slipped around the wasted man.

"Hm?!" She glanced up at a brown-bearded man in surprise. "M-me?" He had a stubby finger jutted straight toward her.

"Y…y-yeah! You, dance on the table! Your King commands it!" He managed to say after stuttering at first.

"My…king?" She blinked in astonishment, turning to face him and standing as elegantly as was possible while holding what she was. "I-I'm sorry…but I don't think I can."

"Bullocks! …I say! Dance on the table, lady!" He re-iterated just as loudly, the some dozen or more dinner party turning to look at Yukiko, staring in wide-eyed wonder.

"My sincerest apologies sir." Her mother stepped in from the hallway, sliding open the thin door. "The Amagi Inn staff are not allowed to participate in your games…"

For some odd reason, Yukiko felt both relief and regret at her mother's statement. "You're doin' it wrong anyway!" Another man shouted back at the first. "It's the King's Game…you," he paused mid-sentence, before loosing a loud hiccup and continuing, "you gotta call a number and a command…that's more outrageous than, than the last one…you can't, can't just tell someone to do something!"

Her look of astonishment faded, a soft smile replacing it as she watched these friends play together. The 'King' groaned, tossing his stick with a red mark on it to the table. "What's the point of this red…chopstick, if I can't call the shots…" He hesitated a moment before submitting. "Seven…gives me a…uh…foot massage!"

"EWW! No, no…no!" The woman beside him threw her stick to the table.

"Come on dear…" Her mother whispered to Yukiko, lightly grabbing her arm to refocus her attention away from the group. _O-oh…I didn't mean to, oops._ She turned back for the hall as the dinner party began to chant "The King's word is Law!" until the woman finally obliged when Yukiko was in the hallway. The entire Inn filled with a chorus of laughter.

* * *

Alone in a backroom, kneeling beside a large crate, Yukiko methodically dropped empty glass booze bottles into separate slots in preparation for recycling them later. It was a small, dimly lit room, neatly packed with crates and other material for removal, at the back of one of the Inn's long hallways. A set of stairs was beside it, though out of sight. For proper etiquette, which was ingrained into her as a child, she had kept the door shut so guests would not see such waste.

"I'm never gonna forget this place…" She heard a male's voice from down the halls. She paused, allowing silence to fill the room as she listened to the group. "Yeah…this was the best day I've had in years." A lady responded, before another man finished. "A resort in the middle of nowhere…almost like it's frozen in time. Ah well…back to the city tomorrow."

"Hmm…" Her gaze lowered to the crates in front of her, frowning dejectedly as she resumed her task.

Just as she finished, climbing back to her feet, the only door slid open as her mother's shadow darkened the doorway. "Oh there you are! Look; I'm sorry to spring this on you so suddenly but…there will be an announcer, Mayumi Yamano, arriving tomorrow and we've received a reputable tip that she might be receiving intense media attention. I hope you didn't have plans tomorrow…if it were a school day I'd have felt so terrible pulling you from it."

Yukiko hesitated, somehow suddenly remembering she had promised to go to Chie's house the next day. "It's no trouble to you is it dear?" Her mother interjected at the moment of silence.

She forced another expectant smile, readily shaking her head in answer. "No, no trouble…I won't let everyone down…"

"That's wonderful news! Sleep well, she arrives at dawn."

_**Amagi Inn, Yukiko's Room**_

A window was open, the sound of crickets and the gentle flashes of fireflies filled the cool night air. Beams of glowing moonlight danced off the long, raven black hair of a young lady in a silken, deep crimson nightgown, kneeling beside the windowsill.

*_**Click**_* She flipped her cellular closed, laying it gently on her pink dresser beside her. '_I'm sorry._' She had repeated to her friend yet again, two words that were all too frequent. Even so, she wasn't particularly sad to not go to Chie's house the next day…

Her already dark eyes dimmed further, realizing this for herself. '_Chie isn't going to help me…_' She knew it was wrong, but she felt a sudden distance between the two of them. Staring downward through her open window, her eyes scanned the barely swaying forest green sea of grass outdoors, contemplating the day's events. '_You'll own and run that Inn one day, so I'll always know where to find you._' '_Like it's frozen in time…_'

Slowly, Yukiko lowered her body, bending forward. Her arms crossed, bracing atop the small windowsill as her chin came to rest atop them. "Where else can I turn…?" She whispered through her broken heart. "Please, somebody…"

Her eyes continued to focus on the swaying shadows outside. "…save me." Her words quietly passed in the night, closing her eyes mournfully, knowing: nobody would.


	2. Chapter 2 - Souji Seta

**Author's Notes:** _This was actually quite enjoyable to write. I envisioned something like this for Souji's backstory when I first played the game- let me know what you think. So; do you want to see me bring this writing into a story, or continue presenting a day of each characters' lives prior to the events story? And if so, which one would you prefer next?_

_April 4, 2011_

_**Flashback - Shurijuku High School, Tokyo**_

Steadily following his principal onto the auditorium's stage, he took position beside the man and turned to face the room of students. He looked over all their faces with a solemn expression, recognizing the numerous people he had spent the fifteenth year of his life with. "Well I'm sure that you all know already…" His principal began, reaching out to lay his hand on Souji's shoulder. "…but at the end of this month he will be transferring to another school."

A chorus of murmurs filled the auditorium; he caught only a few from those closest to the stage, but recognized the voices easily. "No way, seriously?" said his friend Saburo. "Oh my gosh I can't believe this!" Another female student, Atsuko, exclaimed. "He didn't tell me about that." Added another friend, Keiji.

* * *

As he suspected, the moment he left backstage he was caught in the hallway by the trio. "Dude! What gives?" Keiji exclaimed with his arms in the air.

Souji turned to face them, but before even attempting a response, the brunette with shoulder-length curly hair shoved her way in front of Keiji. "HEY! Seriously! This is how your girlfriend hears you're leaving?! What kind of dick move was that!"

"Sorry man, I kinda gotta agree with her on this one." Saburo shrugged, leaning to his left as they gathered around him. "I was pretty well thrown by it too."

"Yeah." Souji coolly responded, seemingly not shaken in the least. "You all knew I've been transferring every year. This day was coming."

"But you didn't even say so…!" Atsuko whined, stepping closer to smack his chest in her angst. "Don't you even care?"

"Sorry, I guess I just thought you knew." He added without faltering. To this she pouted, giving him sad eyes. Students began pouring into the halls, speaking to one another about the popular kid leaving them.

"No! I didn't! This sucks!" She leapt forward and threw her arms around him as a group passed close to them. "But being with you has been a real blast…thank you Souji." With a quick shake of her head, she tossed her hair to her left, tilting up to steal a kiss from him. He remained still, yet obliged to her attempt.

"Ugh; really?" Keiji rolled his eyes and turned away.

"Come on man cut that crap out. You're still here another two weeks anyway…" Subaro chided.

As he expected, the two weeks had passed by without much need for patience. Before long he found himself in the schoolyard, saying goodbye to his friends and giving a final obligatory kiss to his girlfriend before getting on the bus to head home.

_**Souji's bedroom, Parents' penthouse, Azaba Gardens**_

The evening sun beamed through clear glass windows, filling Souji's white room with a golden hue. Lying on a small bed with his head propped against its headboard, Souji idly browsed through his cellular's message history. Weeks had passed since his last day at school, allowing enough time for goodbye and "I'll miss you!" messages to find their way to him. After reviewing them, he began searching his phone.

[Main Menu] – [Contacts] – [Atsuko] – [Delete]

Are you sure? – [Yes]

"I didn't really like her anyway." He muttered, unable to even figure out why he had said 'yes' to her in the first place, though he had quickly discovered her interest had only been due to his popularity at school. He methodically continued to remove school contacts from his phone. If he had any need to contact anyone again, their numbers were in his address book. But judging from all his past experience, he figured at the most over the next few months he may or may not receive a couple messages simply asking how he was, before they stopped altogether.

He was sick of it. It was how all of his experiences had been all of his life; friends, family, teachers, colleagues, whatever it was always the same. When it came time to move on they all put on their sad faces and said any number of things regarding how sorry they were to see you go, but in the end they forget you anyway.

Finished clearing out his contacts list, he gazed upward with a slight sickness, revisiting all the number of people he'd befriended and let go of over the years of his life. He sat up, tossing his phone carelessly into the air as to let it fall onto his bag of clothes on his light oak desk. Dinner was soon, though his stomach was already full- with bitterness.

A low, square table sat in the middle of a room, sunlit by an entire glass wall with an elaborate view of running water and gardens below. Three individuals knelt at separate sides of the small, decorated table, finishing off the last of their courses.

"Plans have changed… we have to leave in an hour to catch our flight." His mother, Akira, began. His expression remained unchanged, staring blankly to the table. "Your train ticket is in place, it's on the 11th though. The principal of your new school informed us that you'd only have missed introductories by the time you join class on the 12th. On your first day, you're to report to the faculty office for placement."

Souji's eyebrows had pressed downward as she so helpfully continued telling him how his life was decided for him, though he still kept his attention on the table before him. She continued. "If you run into any problems, who do you contact?"

"Uncle Dojima." He responded deadpan, like a trained parrot.

"Souji…" Her words softly chided him. "You know if you're in trouble that won't help you at all."

"What's his full name?" His father, Tenchi, added from across the table.

_Every time, the same damn routine…_ Souji kept his composure best he could, though his deep, pensive voice still came out completely emotionless. "Ryotaro Dojima. His daughter is Nanako Dojima. They live on the western edge of the backwater town of Inaba and the school I will be attending is Yasogami High. I even know a few of the teachers' names already."

Both his parents stared in wonder at him, though in truth he held information back. Had he wanted, he could even have listed train stops, local stores, a nearby town and a scant few places of mild interest. "Ah…that's reassuring." His mother responded warmly. "We're only worried for you since we'll be out of the country at the time."

"Why?" He questioned deliberately, finally looking up to meet his mother's hazel eyes. "It's no different than every other time you've left me." Though his words were sharp, they were calm. He rose quickly to his feet, looking down on his bewildered mother. "The only difference is this time you're dumping me off in the middle of nowhere while you guys fly off halfway across the world to America!" This time, his expression had grown stern.

"Souji!" His father snapped, leaping to his feet. Akira could only gasp and cover her mouth in shock.

"No it's alright." Souji returned coldly. "I know your jobs' are important." At that, he promptly turned and left the room, heading back to his bedroom.

"S-Souji…" His mother softly said, watching as he entered his room and gave the door a solid push closed. Her hands fell to her lap, standing to turn to her husband. "…we have to say something to him. We can't just leave like this. Please."

Tenchi exhaled heavily, turning to meet her worried eyes. "I'll speak with him." His wife clasped her hands before her waist, offering him a soft bow and dip of her head in acceptance.

* * *

"Son, we need to talk." The wooden door to Souji's room latched shut behind his father.

Lying on top of his bed idly, Souji said nothing. Rather, in response, he repeated tossing a cloth bean bag ball into the air, aimlessly catching it as it came back down.

Tenchi approached his bedside, reaching out to slide over a wooden chair from his son's desk. "Listen; I know it doesn't seem fair, but believe me, we aren't going to America on any sort of vacation."

"Right. Ambassador business. I get it." Souji's flat words fell out matter-of-factly.

"About what you said…" He paused, watching as his son continued to toss the bean ball into the air yet again. "Come on put that away, I'm trying to talk with you."

The ball fell into Souji's open palm, where it remained as Souji exhaled singularly at his father's request. Obeying him, but not looking upon him, he reached to his bedside and laid the ball on a perfectly white windowsill.

"Well that's a start." Tenchi added with a smile, attempting to lighten the mood, yet rubbing the back of his neck worryingly as he knew it didn't. "Souji, I'm sorry. If we could we would take you with us. Even though we have to leave you, we try our hardest to always be here for you every chance that we get. It's just…"

"Spare me." His son cut in unemotionally. His deep, seemingly calm voice held no emotional tone.

"D-wh…huh?" Surprised to hear those callous words, it took him a moment to register them. But when he did, it kindled a small fire inside of him. "Now you listen here. You may be unhappy with the current situation, but you'd best not disrespect us, especially your mother. You have no idea how much she worries over you when we're away."

Souji immediately sat up in his bed, finally turning to directly face his father. "Oh please. Over the past seven years how much time have either of you even spent with me? First it was my aunt when I was ten, then your parents, mom's parents, and-"

Under his son's continued behavior, Tenchi cut off Souji's list. "Souji!" He shouted before catching himself, his voice now dangerously furious, enough so to give his son pause. He lowered his tone a notch. "Don't you dare pull this on us now, you know full well we are about to leave for a year! You should be grateful for such loving family that cherishes the chance to take you in and open their homes to you. We did not raise you to be this disrespectful!"

Souji's gray eyes reflected inner turmoil, willing himself to not simply cave in, to see this through. "Ugh. Family that cherishes me? Does anyone even truly know me…as little time as I've ever spent anywhere? Do you even know who I am? Whenever you two are back it's always meetings, conferences, paperwork…"

His father's mouth fell agape, eyes wide and downcast in a moment of building rage at his sons insolence, though a small part of him remained in shock that Souji was at the very least partially right. Still; he bit his tongue, attempting to resolve their dispute.

"When we are here, we make all the time in the world for you!"

Souji finally broke eye contact, looking away as he muttered dejectedly. "Oh yeah? Events. Meets with teachers. Grade reports. Come on…what do you really know about me other than my statistics?"

"I know you are a child and I let you live as a child." He retorted hastily, still battling the anger he held inside. "I did not stop you from dating that fool of a girlfriend you selected. She would serve you nothing but to distract and bring you down."

Souji's eyes widened, dumbstruck. For a moment he felt his heart grow still, a cold chill rushed through him as it oddly left a warm tingling sensation, breaking in a cold sweat. "…by the time you were here, that was five months ago." His voice remained calm and still, though an obvious tinge of fear laced his words.

Tenchi considered that he may have gone too far, sitting back in his chair to reconsider the point of their argument and a worthwhile outcome. In the foreboding silence, Souji regathered his courage. "I've had to choose everything for myself for as long as I can remember. You've never been there for me. Say what you want about knowing me, but I've come to realize I don't know who either of you really are, other than '_my parents_.'"

"I…u-um, we…" He hesitated, obviously shaken. Never had Souji's words cut him as sharply as this had. Visibly wincing from the blow, he had to recollect himself in order to say anything. "So…that's what this is about? You want us to be a family, yes?" He waited a moment, observing Souji's stillness. "Alright. I promise to work on that, but you have to promise in return to open up to us and honestly try. When we return next year, things will be different."

Souji glanced away again, remaining silent for a moment. Then, he sighed and turned to face his father, resting his back against the white wall beside his bed. "With what, one year left in yet another new school, before college?" His voice grew weak, though he continued to speak clearly. "I'm sorry, I'm just so angry with you. I don't have anywhere I can call home, I don't know where I belong, yet I know who I am. I don't even know how to feel about that."

"Son…" Dark green eyes reflected the pain before them. It turned out Souji had been correct. Tenchi realized he hadn't even known his son had been this deeply wounded for all this time.

"When I'm eighteen, I'm enrolling for college." He continued without pause, though unable to hold back a pair of lone tears. "I'm done with this way of life. I'm choosing my own place to live, not some stop-over place like Inaba, and I'm staying there and starting a life of my own."

Silence filled the room as father and son stared in what may have been their first quiet understanding.

Tenchi cleared his throat, a shaky hand reaching up to wipe at his face. "Well there's still time before all that. I promise we will discuss this in depth with you when we return…with a clear mind."

Again the pervasive presence of silence crept between the two. Breaking the thick stillness of the air, Tenchi reached out and patted Souji's leg, a gesture of farewell as he rose and headed for the door without a word. It suddenly felt far too difficult to find the words for goodbye.

Rolling back to lie on his bed as his father closed the door, Souji's gray eyes scanned the ceiling in hesitant sorrow. _Inaba._ He sighed expectantly. Of all the places he had to move, this marked the lowest on his list. All he could do was suck it up and give it his best yet again. With any luck it wouldn't be long before he could break free from this pattern his parents had created for him, and make a home for himself somewhere lasting.


	3. Chapter 3 - Yosuke Hanamura

**_Author's_**_** notes**: Being a new author(not in general) to fanfiction, I'm unsure of one thing. Is there any way to provide a 'progress' update for readers to see? I mean, it must be awful as a reader to wait aimlessly for a chapter that you aren't even sure is being worked on...from that standpoint it's either one of two things: published, or not published, there is no in between._

_I debated for a bit on which character to use next... Chie or Yosuke. In the end, Yosuke won. This only means that Chie's the next up for a chapter though! There was one thing I had to keep in mind when I began this; according to his own words, he felt horrible for a long time until Saki Konishi helped bring him out of his slump. This chapter isn't about that day though; in fact it's a step further back. What was life like for him when he first came to town? __Anyway on with the chapter!_

_October 22, 2010_

_**Yosuke's room, Inaba**_

[Compose] To: Kutai

_Hey man; how're things back in Kyoto? Miss me? I bet it's a lot quieter without me around._

_Inaba's a small place, that's for sure. But the girls here…dude! Even though this place has less people, there are still a lot of real cute girls. My first day, two hot girls just up and showed me around town, and I didn't even have to ask them to! I'm totally planning on asking one out today. If they're interested, so am I. Right? Haha!_

[Send]

Yosuke's wild grin faded to a half smirk, glancing down to his desk as he muttered softly under his breath. "Better do it now before they figure out who I am…maybe I'll actually have a chance here before my life goes to hell."

He turned off his computer, moving to dig into numerous cardboard boxes lining the sides of his room. The room echoed with loud thuds and an occasional crash as he tossed books, magazines, cd cases and even a waste basket out onto the floor. "Come on, come on…where is it?!"

"What is all that racket up there?!" A loud voice boomed up the stairway to his room.

"Nothing! Just give me a minute; I gotta go!" He shouted back at the door.

"Trying to find your school books? They're already unpacked, they're on the counter." _Ugh, right._ Yosuke shoved a box back to the wall, leaping to his feet and bounding down the stairs like a deer.

_**Path to Yasogami High**_

_Man if this doesn't work…_ "So how about it? You, me. You know you want to." He said with a crooked grin, winking. "Okay; not doing that again. Ever." He shook the creepy feeling off, pondering over the day to come.

It wasn't all girls though. He missed Kutai, who was the best friend he had ever had. Here…he had nobody. It wouldn't be long before everyone at school hated him, so he had to hurry and make all the connections he could. It was the only way. Still…he didn't know any of the guys yet either, having spent all day with the girls yesterday. _…though that wasn't such a bad thing._ He couldn't help but grin at the thought. "Yosuke-kun?"

A sweet voice piqued his attention, stopping immediately to glance behind him. A black-haired girl approached him from behind, flashing a smile as her black eyes, deep as the dark of night, shone a welcome toward him. "Yukiko-san! Fancy meeting you here." _How lucky is this?! I've got her all alone…now's my chance!_

"Well we do go to the same school." She answered matter-of-factly, stopping momentarily beside him. "So are you getting used to Inaba yet?" She turned and continued their walk to school together, seeming to apologize to him for the town's sake. "I know there's not very much to see."

…_depends on who you're asking._ He had been grinning, but at this thought he couldn't help but smile stronger. "Well, not entirely…but I know just the thing to help with that." He paused, reflexively winking at her while flashing a toothy grin. "How about we hang out sometime? Just the two of us."

"I doubt that's going to happen." She answered simply, staring calmly at him all the while.

Her words sounded so innocent, yet cut so deep. He winced immediately. "Wh…hey, don't you think you could've gone a little easier on me?" He put on his best wounded expression, staring toward her pitifully. "My poor heart can only take so much."

Her eyes widened partially, blinking at him in wonder. "Did I say something that bad?" She questioned, clearly genuinely concerned that she might have hurt him.

"Oh I see…as brutally honest as you are cute." _Damnit._ A look of confusion crossed her as his gimmicked expression faded, leaving only a look of momentary depression before quickly forcing back a smile in attempt to remain positive. "Well that's alright. See you after class? I don't know my way around town yet; I really could use your help." With any luck, he may yet be able to land a hook in her regardless.

"Today's not good for me. Why don't you ask Chie? I think she might be free."

"Aw man just when I was getting my hopes up." He smiled coyly, giving her a playful wink along with it, to which Yukiko only smiled pleasantly in return. _She would have to be that cute…_ He grimaced inwardly, showing none of it.

_**Classroom 1-3, Yasogami High**_

"So where are you from?" A male student questioned.

"Kyoto. It sure is different from here…" Yosuke sat at his desk, still trying to reach out to others to prevent the inevitable. "So what's there to do around here?"

"Nothing much. I mostly just play games at home and sports here. Inaba's boring as hell…must be great in the big city." The brown-haired boy shrugged.

_Sports; hah…right. I can't shoot a basketball to save my life._ "Sure is! This one time, I-"

"Hey, Katashi-" A girl beside him whispered, catching his attention.

"Excuse me." Katashi got up and headed over to join the girl. Yosuke sighed. _Well that went perfectly well, just like everything else so far._ Whoever the girl was that Katashi was talking to, she clearly loved to gossip and was terrible at whispering, as he heard most every word that followed.

"Has your family said anything about Junes opening?" Katashi seemed to agree with her, though Yosuke couldn't hear him. _CRAP! It's already starting! I'M TOO LATE!_ "Mine too. Word is; local shops are going to have to close all thanks to them. But it gets even better-"

Yosuke groaned. _Can my life possibly get any worse?_ "That transfer student? Really?" Katashi questioned just loud enough to be heard. _Shit!_ Yosuke dropped his head to his desk, letting his loose brown hair darken his vision as he closed his brown eyes in absolute grief. _I'm screwed! I'm so totally screwed…!_

* * *

He allowed class to continue with his face down, a twisting in his gut seizing at his chest as grief crawled through his body like a parasite. He didn't even hear their history teacher, Ms. Sofue, rambling on with her lesson. It was only his second day, and gossip would now spread to overtake any chances he had of being somebody here. He knew how this system worked; but this time he was on the outside.

***Thwack!*** A sharp pain took him by surprise as something blunt crashed into his leg at full force. "Ggh!" His chair slid back an inch as he lurched downward and gripped his right leg in agony. Glancing up, much to his surprise he only saw Chie's face glaring back at him from her desk. "The hell was that for?!" He whispered angrily back at her.

"Second day here and you _already_ try a move with Yukiko? Really?!" She fired back under her breath.

"Wha- Dude what's your problem? All I did was ask to hang out or show me around some more!" Any thought of trying for a date with Chie was quickly forgotten. This girl was crazy. "She even said to ask you…!" He expressed, trying to keep his voice down but growing further agitated.

"Well something sure looks interesting." Their history teacher stated with an odd excitement. _Oh crap! No, no not this, no please!_ Yosuke straightened upright and faced her. "How about you share it with the class since it's so important it can't wait, hm?"

"Oh n-no, we're fine thanks!" Chie nervously shot back, carried with a fretful chuckle.

"Hanamura!" Sofue waved an Egyptian cane she was holding toward him.

"Ggh, Ma'am!" _CRAP! Now this day really CAN'T get worse!_

"Tell me what material was used during the creation of the Great Sphinx!"

Without turning his head, his brown eyes drifted to Chie. Catching her attention, he mouthed 'Help me…' to her. _You got me into this…come on, help!_ She made no reaction, but turned away from him. _You suck. Fine…let's get this over with._ "Um…s, s-stone?"

It didn't take long for the class to break into a quiet chuckle. _Goodbye, dignity._ He lowered his head in shame. "Well I was looking for more than that." Ms. Sofue answered, seemingly surprised. "The Great Sphinx was built from limestone called the Muqqatam Formation, which originated from a time when Northeast Africa was underwater. If you hadn't been sleeping since class started you wouldn't have missed that."

At Sofue's jab, he heard soft snickering from the students surrounding him. He grimaced, figuring it was too late to disagree or say anything now…it would only prolong his suffering. "R-right, sorry."

Depressed, he still failed to pay attention to Sofue. Whatever she was saying sounded Egyptian…though that was probably because it was. Beyond that he wasn't sure how much time had passed, until he noticed Chie glowering at him again. "Now what…" He softly murmured as he closed his eyes with a sigh, pulling back in his seat in fear of her kicking him again.

"Don't go anywhere after school. I'm not done with you." She commanded, sending a deathly chill through his body.

"Haven't you done enough already?" She ignored him, turning back to their teacher. _It's official. My life is gone._

* * *

As much as he dreaded it, he knew the end of class would eventually come. Every student quickly rose from their chairs, and he followed suit. He noticed however that Yukiko was the quickest on her feet, heading for the door as soon as class had released. _Oh shoot._ This could mean only one thing…it was time to slip out the door before Chie noticed.

Deciding it safe to ignore her earlier command, he grabbed his books and bolted for the door behind Yukiko, but not without going unnoticed. "Hey, hold up!" _And that was a failure._

"Haha…yeah, figured it was at least worth a shot." He grinned stupidly and aimlessly rubbed at the back of his head.

"Come with me." The girl in green barged by him, her short brown hair dancing beside her head with each step._ Getting beat up by a girl now…it's like my life is right out of a sitcom… _

_**Rooftop, Yasogami High**_

Yosuke stepped through the metal door, closing it behind him as the bare sunlight struck his eyes. Chie stood directly in front of him, each hand propped off her hips. "So is this the part where you kill me and throw my body over the side of the building? Or maybe stuff me into a ventilation duct only to be discovered when my body starts to-"

"Ugh." Chie shuddered a moment, but quickly got over it as she lunged forward and slammed Yosuke's back to the door, yelling at him. "Alright; who put you up to it? How much was the bet?!"

"Wh-whoa!" Yosuke, his back pressed against the cold surface, threw his hands up beside him in earnest plea. "Who? What? Bet, what bet?!"

"Don't you play dumb with me!" Her grip on his school jacket tightened, shaking him to thump him once against the door again. "It was Katashi, wasn't it?! Ooh, when I get my hands on that little…"

"Aaah!" He pressed back against the door, staring at her in shock. "What the hell has gotten into you?! You aren't making any sense!"

"Oh come on! 'Amagi Challenge' ring any bells for you?" She retorted, tilting her head slightly, locking her brown eyes on his. He could swear he saw her begin to snarl…which only terrified him more.

_Oh god! Where the hell have I moved to? Is she even human?! Everyone here is totally crazy!_ "Ama-what? Amagi? OH WAIT!" It clicked. "Isn't that Yukiko-san's last name? I-I don't get it…no, seriously I don't!" He added after he noticed her hesitate for a moment.

"Really?" She let go of his jacket, stepping back to tap her right foot on the ground twice. She stood silent a moment as he angrily glared back at her. "Well, you do look pretty clueless."

"H-Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"So you don't know Katashi?" She questioned again, obviously wanting reassurance.

"No! I only heard the guy's name, that's all! This is my second day here, remember? I've only met you two so far…what's with the third degree?" ***Beep beep beep*** "Ugh now what?!" Yosuke grunted aloud and pulled his cellular out. "Hello?!" He snapped at the phone accidentally.

"Yosuke?" He heard his father's voice, which sounded nothing short of confused. "…is everything alright? You sound a little-"

"Everything's fine dad." Yosuke cut him off quickly, attempting to improve his tone.

"Great. Please come over to Junes, would you?" _…WHAT?!_ "You're old enough now that I believe it's time to put you to work. We could definitely use your help with the opening of this store." _NO! NO! Nooo! Why?!_ He felt he could nearly cry, but thought better of it with Chie standing there. "This is a great opportunity for you, son- and you will be paid for your time, much better than your allowance."

"I…" Yosuke's tone had all but died, finding he had to pause simply to recollect himself now. "Yeah, th-that's great news! Haha! Um…I'll head over there now."

"Excellent. I'll be seeing you soon. Oh and don't worry about the school uniform you're wearing, I have a uniform ready for you. I'm proud of you, son."

Yosuke closed his eyes and visibly grimaced yet again. _Yeah, because I was so concerned about what I'd be wearing to my funeral. Thanks so much._ "Right then, see ya." ***Click*** He hung up, probably too quickly but who was counting?

Opening his eyes again, he found Chie looking back at him curiously. "So…are we done here? 'Cause I gotta run."

"Is everything alright with your dad?" Chie pointed at his phone as he put it away.

_My dad?!_ A look of shock struck him. "How did y- oh, right, I did say that out loud didn't I?" He sighed, crossing his arms as he hesitated a moment. Above all else, he did not want to bring Junes into this argument; the fewer reasons to give her to kick him, the better. "We're still getting moved in, so…I gotta help him out."

"Hey um, if there's any lifting involved I can totally help you guys out you know. After all…" She paused, letting out a nervous laugh. "I guess I kind of owe you for all of this anyway."

The thought of Chie following him to Junes sent a panicked shiver racing through him. "N-no, no we're fine thanks!" He quickly dismissed with a wave of his hands. "But hey no worries. See you at school Monday?"

"Well alright, maybe later? A-anyway, I've got a great place to show you tomorrow if you're free, if you're still interested. I think Yukiko might be free too, so we can all go together again?"

"Sounds great. Well then, later!" He gave Chie an accepting wink, turning to slip out the roof's only door as quick as he could. _And now she wants to hang out with me…and Yukiko-san. I will NEVER understand women._

_**Yosuke's room, Inaba**_

The walking zombie trudged up a narrow stairway, creaking a door open and latching it behind him. It groaned audibly, crossing the dark wooden floor of the box-filled room, finding its way to a desk at the opposite side. The rustle of clothing disturbed the somber darkness as he flung coveralls off his body, letting it fall in a folded lump on the desk.

***Crunch* ** "Grr…" Lifting from the chair he had slumped into, Yosuke shoved a loose CD case from underneath him to the floor with a loud clatter. He probably cracked the case, he'd worry about the CD later…it was probably fine.

Pressing a power button on his computer inside his desk, the dark room flickered with a dark blue glow. Having left it in hibernate; his desktop came up almost immediately, finding he was still logged into his email as it loaded up new messages. It was barren, save for one email from Kutai.

_Sick! You just got into town and already getting' the ladies?_ Yosuke groaned anew. _Shoot me back some word man, how'd it go? You gotta tell me what she's like. Or both, if you're into that…never took you for a player though. Anyway, you remember that gal we were hot on? Yeah well; I'm with her now._

"Wha…" Yosuke sighed as his heart dropped. "Man that could've been me." _Surprise! Haha. She's every bit as hot to kiss as she was to look at. But I guess you're over that now, moving on to new girls and all._ "Gee, thanks…I seriously don't need to be reading this." Yosuke gripped the bridge of his nose, scrunching his face up in disgust.

At this point he had momentarily given up reading the email, glancing aside, empty-hearted. "Oh, no problem dad. I'll just move with you to the middle of nowhere and help open a big-city store…where everyone will hate us for it." His words came out as callous as his broken heart. With one quick swoop he seized his Junes uniform from his desk, glaring at it through suddenly misty eyes. "Yeah sure, I'd love to help you ruin my life. That's just what I always wanted!" He declared loudly, perhaps too loudly, slinging the white coveralls to the floor in a crumpled pile.

Trembling in anger, frustration, and grief, Yosuke remained still in his chair for nearly a minute. Blinking away the hidden tears from his eyes, he worked up the will to continue reading his friend's email. Nothing else stood out to him though, just idle chit-chat about what their other friends had been up to.

[Reply]

_Kutai,_

_Oh yeah, I had a great time getting my heart ripped to pieces by a brutal beauty. Still, that was better than the other girl- her beast? Here's how my day went, in order; hopeful, decimation, pain and humiliation, the third degree, and for the final course- my dad served me a helping of a kick in the teeth._

_I knew I'd hate it here. My classmates are already talking bad about my dad's business and figuring out I'm his son. My chances here are shot, so congratulations on stealing her away with me outta the picture._

He paused, sighing. He knew when he had begun ranting through his keyboard that he never intended on sending this email, he just had to let it out.

[Discard]

[Reply]

_Hey congrats man, I'm glad for you. Today's been real busy, you know me- gotta keep movin' ^_~ Sure I miss being home with all you guys, but I've got a lot going on for me here. Got a day on the town planned with the girls tomorrow, got a job so I'm going to start saving up money soon…you know, getting the feel for the place. I'd say more, but I'm worn out. So talk later pal._

Before sending, he couldn't help but stare at the word _'home_.' He frowned, highlighting it to replace it with the word 'there' instead. "Those days are gone…"

[Send]

* * *

_**Author's no****te**: Oh and, the place Chie had in mind (if I never write it anywhere), was to take him to the Samegawa Flood Plain._


End file.
